AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY. 



Tlie fish caught are gutted, and the bones and head taken off and 

 dried upon scaffoldings. They are then made into bundles and 

 sent to the southern part of Japan for food, while the roes, whicn 

 are left, are dried on the flake or pickled and used for food. The 

 head bones and gills, left after making the boneless herring, are 

 also dried and utilized as fertilizers. I>nt since llie introduction 

 of traps, about thirty years ago, and also the inlrochiction of the 

 pocket attachment after that, the catch became so enormous that 

 every fish caught could not be utilized in the old way, and so 

 the guano and oil industries were inaugurated. This industry, 

 has grown from year to year, and at present is the most import- 

 ant of the fisheries of the Hokkaido. At present the total 

 amount of the dried scraps manufactured reaches tlie enormous 

 quantity of ninety thousand tons. 



Next in inn)ortance is the salmon fishery. Our salmon be- 

 longs to the same genus as the Pacific coast salmon. There are 

 tvv(^ })rincipal species of salmon, namely, the spring salmon 

 [O/icorhyiichus perryi) and the fall salmon {O/icorhyiic/ius /laberi). 

 The spring salmon ascend the waters for the purpose of spawn- 

 ing in the months of May and June, and the fall salmon in the 

 late fall months. The fall run is the more numerous of the two 

 but inferior in flavor. 



The methods used in the capture of this fish are several, but 

 the principal kinds of nets used are the drag-seines, traps and 

 gill nets in the seas, while only the drag-seines are used in the 

 rivers. Some of the chief salmon rivers in the island can still 

 compare with any salmon rivers in this country. The most 

 important river for salmon is Ishikari, emptying into Strogonof 

 Bay, on the western coast. Curing in salt used to be the only 

 way of preparing salmon for market, but about eight years ago 

 the Government employed Mr. Treat, of Eastport, Me., to intro- 

 duce the method of canning the fish, and the new industry is 

 growing constantly, and some of the articles are now sent t,o 

 France. About three years ago a gentleman commenced a 

 smoking business there, and this we hope will soon become one 

 of the principal industries in the salmon fisheries. 



Now, I will make a few remarks on the cod fisheries. The 

 cod are most abundant in the winter and earlv sttring. The fish- 



